Night Stalker
|rarity = Uncommon |casting_cost = |upkeep_cost = per turn |research_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = +10% To Hit Invisibility Poison Immunity Illusions Immunity Cold Immunity Death Immunity Death Gaze -2 }} The Night Stalker is a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. Night Stalkers belong to the Realm, and may be summoned using a Summoning Spell of the same name. The Night Stalker's combat properties are surprisingly low for its cost, but it makes up for this with two key traits: inherent Invisibility, and a dangerous Death Gaze. Night Stalkers can be used for quickly taking out unsuspecting enemy Ranged Attack units and other weak opponents hiding behind their lines. The Fantastic Unit Physical Description Two different versions of the Night Stalker can be seen in the game. One version shows the Night Stalker as a tall, thin humanoid, wrapped in darkness, and wearing a black cloak. In the other we see this as a shambling form made of shadows with glowing red eyes, though still roughly humanoid (bipedal) and roughly man-sized. Little is known about the Night Stalker's true shape, as it is actually invisible - making it difficult to ascertain anything about this creature. However it is safe to say that this is a stealthy and deadly hunter. The Night Stalker is a . Attack Properties As far as its Melee Attack goes, the Night Stalker is fairly weak. With , it can reliably get through most targets' Defenses, inflicting at least some damage. Thanks to a bonus, the Night Stalker will deliver, on average, about points of "raw" with each attack. More importantly though, the Night Stalker possesses the dreaded Death Gaze. Whenever it is engaged in melee, regardless of whether it initiated the attack or is Counter Attacking, it will unleash this deadly Gaze Attack before either combatant could deal any Melee Damage. When struck by this attack, the opponent must make as many Resistance rolls as it has standing , all with a penalty of . For each failed check, the target unit will suffer exactly its per value in , effectively losing one full for every failed roll. As this occurs before mutual melee, any slain by this attack will not get to participate in it, and thus may not deliver any Melee Damage or Touch Attacks. However, if the Night Stalker is the defending unit, and the opponent has a short range attack of its own, that will always precede the Death Gaze, and may therefore destroy the Stalker before it can use it. Defensive Properties For a Fantastic Unit, the Night Stalker is surprisingly fragile. It has a Defense score of only , allowing it to block an average of about points from Conventional Damage attacks. The creature does have , so it can at least take some hits before being destroyed. However, this is still quite a low amount, especially for a , which is why the Night Stalker should typically not engage the enemy unless it has a clear advantage. Like most other creatures from the Realm, the Night Stalker does also possess a wide variety of immunities: Poison Immunity, Illusions Immunity, Cold Immunity and Death Immunity. These render it completely invulnerable to a wide array of Unit Curses and Special Damage attacks. In addition, even in situations where they do not apply, the Night Stalker has a decent Resistance score of , making it fairly resistant to ill effects. Other Properties The Night Stalker moves at a rate of , both on the overland map and during battle. It is a good scout, and its movement during battle allows it to easily flank the enemy lines and get to the weaker units in the rear. However, its greatest asset is its Invisibility. It can move stealthily on the battlefield, evading stronger units and attacking only when it has the advantage. The enemy cannot make Ranged Attacks against it (which is good, considering the Night Stalker's poor Defense). As long as it keeps its distance from enemy units, the Night Stalker is effectively undetectable by the opponent, unless one of their units possesses Illusions Immunity. As with most other creatures, Night Stalkers do not heal naturally, nor can they be healed by magic or abilities, with the sole exception being the spell. Basic Tactics Night Stalkers may deliver a deadly attack, but they have rather poor survivability. They must rely on stealth rather than brute force. This usually makes it necessary for them to target only the weakest enemy units, particularly the ranged ones and those with low scores. It is also important to try and avoid letting the enemy surround the Night Stalker. Since standing next to an enemy unit will reveal the creature to the rest of the opposing force, it is typically better to engage the enemy from the sides, where the Stalker can quickly dispatch a target and then retreat out of sight. The Night Stalker is at a significant disadvantage against units with Illusions Immunity. Enemy armies containing such units are best avoided, especially if they belong to another Wizard, as seeing the creature also allows spells to be targeted at it. If confrontation can not be avoided, the swift destruction of the Illusions Immune unit(s) may be the only way to remove the opponent's advantage. In particular, the Night Stalker is exceptionally weak against other creatures, as they can not only naturally see through Invisibility, they are also completely immune to its Death Gaze. Enemy Night Stalkers Night Stalkers are relatively common as neutral enemy units, though less so than most other creatures. They are often found in Encounter Zones such as Ancient Temples, Fallen Temples, or Ruins, and occasionally in Towers of Wizardry. They will typically provide support for a large horde of Ghouls or other weaker units, and are rarely on their own. The best way to contend with a Night Stalker is to bring in a unit with Illusions Immunity (whether innate or bestowed by ). Units with a high Resistance score will also fare well against a Night Stalker, though they may still suffer some casualties. Strong Melee Attackers can usually take the Stalker down fairly easily. If the creature can not be detected, it can be a good idea to keep the army together, so that when the Night Stalker does appear, several units can gang up on it. Of course, in this case, its presence may not be known at all until it suddenly shows up next to a vulnerable unit. In the official game, Wizards also have an easy way of defeating neutral Night Stalkers, as casting will effectively disable the creature's Gaze Attack entirely, making it possible to take on even with low-level Normal Units. Naturally, this will not work against rival Wizards, who may be able to cast to offset this effect. Ability Overview +10% To Hit * This unit has an extra to hit its target with every die of its Attack Rolls. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more with each attack it makes. Invisibility * During combat, this unit is only visible to the opponent when it moves adjacently to an enemy unit. While undetected, it may not be directly targeted by spells. * This unit may not be targeted by Ranged Attacks, and any Melee Attacks against it suffer a penalty. * Enemies with Illusions Immunity see through this effect, and will both reveal the unit's position without being adjacent to it, and themselves be able to attack it as normal. Death Gaze -2 * Whenever this unit makes a or Counter Attack against an enemy target, it first delivers a Death Damage Gaze Attack. * Each in the target unit must Resist at a penalty of or be destroyed immediately. * This attack takes place before Melee Damage is dealt by either unit. However, it occurs after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any). * This ability allows the Night Stalker to initiate Melee Attacks against units. * This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Death Immunity ability. * The effect is delivered alongside an otherwise hidden short-range attack with an Attack Strength of . As a result, magic that reduces ranged Attack Strength may disable it completely. Poison Immunity * This unit cannot be hurt by Poison Damage. It will automatically pass any roll to avert such damage. Illusions Immunity * Illusion Damage inflicted on this unit does not bypass its . The unit gets to make its Defense Rolls as normal. * During combat, this unit will spot all enemy Invisible creatures regardless of how close they are. Those creatures become semi-visible on the screen, and may be targeted by spells like any other unit. * This unit may not be targeted by , , , or . Cold Immunity * This unit is considered to have a Defense score of against Cold Damage. It will almost never be hurt by the and spells. Death Immunity * This unit will not be affected by most spells and abilities associated with the Realm. The Summoning Spell Usage Night Stalker may only be cast overland, for the base Casting Cost of . Upon successfully casting the spell, the new Night Stalker unit will appear in the Town currently containing the Wizard's Summoning Circle, with full Movement Allowance, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary. To keep the Night Stalker in play, its controller is required to pay an Upkeep Cost of per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's pool at the beginning of each turn while the unit exists. Failure to pay this Upkeep due to lack of will lead to the Night Stalker immediately disappearing, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it. However, this upkeep is for the unit, not for the spell: Summoning Spells can not be dispelled by the enemy once cast. Naturally though, if the unit is destroyed, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Cost. Units summoned on the overland map may also be dismissed manually from their unit statistics window the same way as any other overland unit (during their controller's turn, while not in combat). Acquisition As an Uncommon Spell of the Realm, Night Stalker may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbook. With none, the spell can naturally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for Night Stalker to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 10% (with book), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master, and/or Conjurer Retorts; or a bookshelf containing or more. Night Stalker may also be selected as a starting spell by players who allocate all of of their picks into books when creating their Wizard. In this case, it will be available for casting as soon as the game begins. Known Bugs It may happen that the Night Stalker loses the ability to use its Death Gaze, if the opponent uses the spells or . Although this is not a bug with Night Stalkers themselves, they may be affected by it nonetheless. It happens because Gaze Attacks are delivered as "added effects" to a Conventional Damage attack, much like Special Damage Touch Attacks. Except in this case, this attack is hidden from the player. In terms of implementation, this means that the Night Stalker actually has a Ranged Attack Strength of which, if reduced to zero, will no longer allow performing the Gaze effect. Unfortunately, since this attribute is not displayed in the unit statistics window, or mentioned anywhere in the game documentation, it may seem that the Night Stalker is "bugged", when in fact it is not. Regardless though, this mechanic is removed entirely in the Unofficial Patch 1.50, which allows the execution of "added effects" even when the Conventional Attack Strength is zero. In addition, casting in situ will also offset the negative effect of either of the above spells, allowing the Night Stalker to keep using its Gaze Attack as normal even in the official game.